continues to rank among the top 'most influential skiers in the world
' and is called 'THE MAN' by everyone in the ski industry.
Around 1997, he created this sport with his friends, and since then Mr. Freeride has been a powerful driver and supporter of the sport, while Mike Douglas is known as the godfather of the freeski world.
As a top rider, movie producer, and ski business person, the value and achievements that Mike has given to the snow industry are immeasurable. Since 2017, Mike Douglas has been actively working on global environmental issues as the representative of "POW CANADA". On April 22, 2021, we would like to deliver an interview with Mike in honor of the worldwide "Earth Day".
[Profile]
Mike Douglas ● Mike Douglas
W-Cup for the Canadian Mogul National Team. In the late 1990s, he helped develop Salomon's world's first twin-tip ski, the Salomon 1080, and became a key figure in the global freeski movement as the New Canadian Air Force. While leading the scene as a rider, he is also talented in video production, Switchback Entertainment in 2007, and has been responsible for the production of Salomon Freeski TV for 14 years. He is an icon of the free ski world who has traveled around the world filming and has been successful as a ski businessman. He is also the freeskier with the deepest ties to Japan, and has visited Japan "more times than I can remember." He is also famous for being a big fan of Japan. Lives in Whistler, Canada.
The last plane I took was a flight back from Japan・This past year
──Mike, how have you been lately?
I haven't left B.C. at all this past year. Having traveled half the year for decades now, I can't believe I've stayed in B.C. for a year like this without ever traveling abroad. But I thought this wasn't too bad. I've been too busy all this time. I slowed down a little bit, skated a lot in my home town of Whistler, and had more time with my family. I don't eat unhealthy food on the plane, or eat too much local food when traveling (laughs).
──Corona isn't all about negative things
Oh.
Also, I think we're lucky that ski resorts in North America are mostly open as usual during this COVID-19 pandemic. To skate in Whistler, you have to make a reservation in advance. So it feels a little weird. But it's free, okay? There are no tourists at all. It's really hard to come to Whistler from outside now. The US border has been closed for over a year. It's comfortable for skating, but I'm worried about slow business. It's not as bad as it is in America, but the impact it has on people's lives is huge. I wear a mask everywhere I go, and it's hard to get together with friends. Fortunately, an authoritative researcher of infectious diseases says that skiing is risk-free, so there is hope. Whistler is lucky that no one has been infected.
how about japan? Oh yeah, the last plane I took was a flight back from Japan in February. It's been a year already...
──Ever since you came to Arai?
I see. When Arai became the manager of LOTTE, I had a close friend of Whistler who was hired as an avalanche control specialist and was doing patrols. He said to Arai's marketing rep, "Mike Douglas is my friend, why don't you get Mike to help promote the new Arai?" He also made a promotional video.
──It was published in "Bravo SKI 2021 Vol.2", and there were a lot of good photos.
e? About that? Most of them were taken by me and Seiji (Sage Cattabriga-Alosa) on our smartphones (laughs). The picture quality of modern smartphones is amazing. You can shoot as well as a single-lens reflex camera. I was always taking pictures with Seiji. Arai's trip was truly a fun trip where I could ski to my heart's content on JAPOW, enjoy my favorite hot springs, and enjoy delicious Japanese food. I was happy to have a session with Seiji for the first time in a while.
mike douglas the trajectory
──I'd like to introduce Mike again in "STEEP", so can you give me a review so far?
of course.
In the early 1990s, I was a member of the Canadian Moguls National Team, competing in the Moguls W-Cup. I was one step away from qualifying for the 1994 Olympics, but I missed the Olympics. After that I became a coach, but when Salomon came out with the 1080 twin-tip skis, everything changed completely. It was called New School at the time, but new freestyles were born explosively, and me, JP Eau Claire, JF Cusson, and Vincent Dorion's "New Canadian Air Force" has been competing all over the world at the Winter X-Games and contests. I started jumping around and had segments in major ski movies like Matchistick and Poorbooys.
In 2007, SALOMON's ski TV program "SALOMON Freeski TV" started, and I was contracted to produce it. So I started a filmmaker called Switchback Entertainment It was a big deal. I'm still running SALOMON's Ski TV, and it's been 14 years now.
Right now, I divide my time between skiing and running the ski business as a producer/director, maybe half or half. But normally it's 70% filming and 30% sliding. But this year the film business has slowed down due to COVID-19, so I'm not too busy, so I've been skiing a lot.
──Mike really is a businessman. you must be busy
Oh, I'm usually very busy. Switchback Entertainment does marketing for WhistlerBlackcomb, makes commercials for national companies, and even works with CNN. I work with a variety of clients and a variety of businesses.
Thoughts on the signature trick "D spin"
──Where does Mike's passion come from?
Yeah, I think it's because I really like skiing. I was really into skiing this year because of COVID-19. I love skiing because skiing always teaches me something new. That's where it gets interesting.
My biggest goal this year was to do my signature trick, the D-Spin, which I did just two weeks ago.
I turned 50 last season and my goal was a D-spin. There was a previous story about this, and I don't know if the episode "Fountain of Youth" in the SALOMON TV program I created was aired in Japan, but the video was created in Japan in 2017. There was The theme is "foundation to keep motivation and body young".
I visited Japan, the country of millionaires, to find out how I can maintain my motivation to skate and stay young, and spent time with the Miura family (Mr. Yuichiro Miura and Mr. Gota Miura). One of my goals was to land a D-spin on that trip. The last time I landed a D-spin was three years ago, and as I got older, I became more scared and worried that I wouldn't be able to do it again. That's why my goal was to be able to do makeup again at the age of 47.
──Is it this movie? "Fountain of Youth"
Yes Yes! Please take a look at all the users of "STEEP".
──The composition, the visuals, and the narration were interesting. I enjoyed
(Laughs) Thank you! After successfully achieving a D-spin at the age of 47, my next goal was to make a D-spin again at the age of 50. Believe that you can maintain your strength and physical ability and make it again at 50 so that you don't get dulled by your success at 47.
I turned 50 last season, but last season there was no snow at all in Whistler at the beginning of the season, so I couldn't ski at all. I didn't get a chance because the trip continued.
There is also a job such as filming on a southern island.
In February, I finally had time to practice! On the first day I went up the mountain, I crashed when I tried a trick and hurt my shoulder. It took me 10 months to get better, and then COVID-19 came and the resort closed, so I missed my chance. and! I turned 51 this season, so I have to achieve my goal no matter what! I started practicing constantly in January and finally got my makeup done on February 2nd! Good for you! So, the second goal that I'm working on passionately is carving.
―Carving? e? Does the mic carve?
(laughs) Oh. I want to be able to carve like a racer. That's why I'm working hard on my technique right now. Most of the time I do backcountry skiing and powder skiing, but the mountains have been prone to avalanches for some time now, so I've been practicing carving on the slopes. You look like a hard-working student (laughs). There aren't many people, so you can fly.
When I look at it this way, I think that I always like to challenge myself and learn new things. I've been a professional skier for 30 years, but I'm still learning.
This is evolution
──30 years... How do you feel when you look back on your freeskiing trajectory?
I think the current situation is really crazy. I was watching this year's X-Games on video the other day and it seemed crazier than video games to me. Unbelievable tricks, difficult tricks that 20 years ago seemed impossible for a human being, are being performed right in front of you. The height of that level is not normal.
But I also get worried. Isn't it too dangerous (laughs)? But this is evolution.
──How did it evolve like that?
I think it's because with the development of social media, an environment has been created where everyone can easily and skillfully learn using media. Now that I always have my smartphone with me, being able to take a picture of a slip and watch it right away is huge. Everything that is happening and doing can be seen in almost real time, so the amount of information is overwhelming. Twenty years ago you had to bring in big videos.
Right now, I'm also using videos to study carving. Ask a friend to take a picture, look at it immediately, analyze it, and fix it in the next one, repeat. I'm determined to be efficient and speedy. In addition, I think that the fact that the children entering this world are getting younger and younger is accelerating the evolution of this sport. Young children are undeniably physically strong. 15-year-old kids today are better than when I was a pro (laughs).
──I feel the flow of time
very. But I think the best times for freeskiing were 1998-2010. I think it was an era when the performances of athletes in the top scene featured not only the difficulty of tricks, but also style and individuality, and was established as a culture and lifestyle. If it becomes too technical, there are parts that you can't even admire.
New school free skiing began in the park with the advent of twin-tip skis. Since my breakout around 1998, big air, halfpipe, quarterpipe, trick tricks. That was Cool. But in 10 years from 2000 to 2010, the stage of tricks gradually shifted from park riding to backcountry.
Furthermore, in the last 10 years, the trend has become more like skiing for adventure, traveling in nature rather than skiing itself. It's what we call 'ski terrain'. In Japanese, it feels like mountain skiing or tour skiing. I think the evolution of the gear is a big factor behind this. The equipment that allows you to enjoy skiing terrain is becoming very fulfilling.
The evolution of equipment is astonishing, such as lighter weight boots, easier to climb and walk, and tougher bindings, and skis that allow you to ski the whole mountain. In North America, powder ski trains are a big movement in skiing. Then I'm curious about what the next trend will be, and I'm looking into it.
──I feel Japan is close
I feel very lucky that the direction of this ski trend has matched my career path. He did moguls and tricks when he was younger, and as he became a veteran, powder and backcountry skiing became mainstream, and he expanded into adventure and tour skiing. It fit my career perfectly and that's why I've been a professional skier all my life.
Filmmaking, travel and adventure changed the way I look at life and skiing
──What was the biggest change in Mike's life?
I think there are several. i've been skiing for a long time and luckily i've never had a serious injury. It's not because I don't want to get hurt, but as I get older, I can't be the best skier anymore. I'm nowhere near the top, I don't jump, I don't push my limits, I can't do cool tricks.
But I still love skiing, nothing has changed. One of the things that brought about a big change in my skiing life and my views on skiing was when I started making films.
Until then, my goal was to pursue the action of sliding, but I think that the way I see the world has changed through encounters with various cultures and nature through travels and adventures for film making. Since then, for me, skiing has become an adventure that opens up new worlds and places that go to unique places.
──Skiing has become an adventure to open up an unknown world...
For example, one of my most memorable trips in Super Cool was when I went to Kashmir in India. I was overwhelmed by the depth of the different cultures, and the world and life seemed completely different. As a film maker, it goes without saying that I want to leave good images, but the adventures of encountering unseen nature, unfamiliar lands and cultures are also a source of passion within me.
──DREAM TRIP to Kashmir, this is it
ah. If you watch the video, I think you can feel a little bit of the indescribable "something" that Indian daily life and rich culture have.
The problem of the global environment is very big for me.
The second thing that has brought about a big change is that in my long 30-year career as a professional skier, I have continued to see various changes in this sport and surrounding it.
──What changes, for example, in Mike's life?
You know Whistler's Glacier, right? Twenty years ago, Glacier was a mecca for summer camps, with a huge number of moguls and freeride camps. Now it has almost disappeared. That's unbelievable. Now there's only a corner of space left. That's why the only camp left is John Smart's mogul camp. Don't you think this is crazy? I've spent so long in this glacier, and when I saw this reality, the change in the global environment became a huge problem for me.
──You can see global warming in such a realistic and dramatic way...
Still, I couldn't stand it, so I started POW activities in Canada in 2017 as the president of POW Canada Until then, I had been an ambassador in the USA for several years, but there was no POW in Canada yet, so I started it myself. Thanks to the rich nature that we can enjoy skiing in the snowy mountains like this. We have to protect this environment by doing what we can.
